December, 19 ii 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
405 
l 
Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh 
A LL decay is caused from some sort of 
bacteria, and by using antiseptic 
preparations and cleanliness we can delay 
the process. In the case of cut flowers 
we find that they will keep fresh longer 
if gathered at night and the next morning 
have the stem washed in warm water and 
a quarter of an inch cut off with a sharp 
knife. They may then be put in a vase 
of water and be taken out and washed and 
trimmed again every morning for several 
days before they show signs of decay or 
wilting. If it is desired to send flowers 
to a distance they may be gathered at night 
and treated in this way the next morning, 
then wrap each stem in cotton and oil pa¬ 
per. A small potato stuck on each stem 
will furnish sufficient moisture to keep a 
flower fresh for several days while in 
transit. 
How to Make Your t Suburban 
Home a Success 
T HE man of moderate means as well 
as the man with millions has a de¬ 
sire for the scenic beauty of the country, 
which finds expression in homes ranging 
all the way from a lot with a few flowers, 
to the country estate. Each in its way 
serves to gratify this desire. By success¬ 
ful administration let us mean that the 
lawns are well kept, the walks and drives 
are in order, the shrubs and flower beds 
and the garden are free from weeds. 
First of all, have your residence and out¬ 
buildings properly located. There is noth¬ 
ing that adds so much beauty and at the 
same time cuts down the expense of a 
place like an economic arrangement. 
Many a man has become disgusted with 
his place because it never seemed to be 
in order. You have seen many places 
where the whole arrangement reminded 
you of a horticultural junk shop without 
shape or system. Vegetables and flowers 
growing together, the lawns cut up with 
figure shaped flower beds as crosses, stars, 
etc. Perhaps you will find board boxes or 
wooden edges to the beds. All these 
things tend to lessen the character of the 
place. This patchwork method is always 
the most expensive and totally lacking in 
taste or art. Flower beds edged with field 
stone are in bad taste and never in keep¬ 
ing with any design of a bed. By far the 
best way to make a flower bed is to cut 
out the shape and size out of a well-kept 
sod, letting the dirt come almost flush 
with the top of the sod. Good taste de¬ 
mands no greater demarkation of the bed 
and lawn than this. It is much the sim¬ 
pler way and there is nothing about it to 
become dilapidated. 
Perhaps the most important of all is 
the lawn. We all enjoy a wide stretch of 
green. Make your lawns seem as large as 
possible. Do not cut them up with beds 
of flowering annuals, they have no place 
on a lawn, where nearly everything like 
fYAEE &TOWJV^ 
BLOUNT 
| POOR CHECK t 
Haven , t you caught cold because some 
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How about applying one on your 
Front Entrance Door Door to Rear Hall 
Outside Kitchen Door Nursery Door 
Side Entrance Door Den Door 
Blount Door Checks are almost 
human: and they never forget. 
Made in several sizes—for all weights of doors—;your hardware dealer ca?i supply you. 
They may also be had on request furnished 
with attachment for holding the door open 
at any desired position. 
They are one of the world’s greatest 
mechanical contributions to the comfort and 
satisfaction of people who use doors. In 
buying your door check insist that it bears 
the name Yale & Towne. 
The Yale & Towne Mfg. Co. 
The Makers of 
Yale Products 
Local Offices: 
Chicago, 74 East Randolph St. 
San Francisco, 706 Phelan Bldg. 
9 Murray Street 
New York, 
Beautify Lawn or Terrace 
by sowing the Wizard A T £\ If £\ 
Lawn producer 
Comes up anywhere, all it needs is soil and moisture. 
Seed and fertilizer scientifically mixed to produce mar¬ 
velous results. Hundreds praise its great efficiency. 
Cheaper, goes further than common seed. Ask for 
FREE Booklet, “How to Make a Lawn.’’ 
The Kalaka Company Chicago, III. 
CALIFORNIA 
yy ¥17 li' ' H ' Best of the Hedge Plants—an ideal hedge 
M Jlx & ▼ ■ y JL for lawn purposes. A quick grower. No 
thorns. Easily trained. California Privet 
is generally known and universally popular. Particularly suitable for 
private grounds. Perfectly hardy and almost evergreen. Largo stock. 
Prompt shipments. Plant this Fall and gain a season. Write to-day 
for Free Catalogue of Trees, Vines, etc. 
ARTHUR J. COLLINS 
Box Y, MOORESTOWN, N. J. 
NO DELAY TO OET THE CLOTHES DRY ON WASH DAY 
When using the "CHICAGO-FRANCIS” Combined Clothes Dryer and Laundtj 
Stove. Clothes are dried without extra expense, as the waste heat from the laundry 
stove dries the clothes. Can furnish stove suitable for burning wood, coal or gat? 
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sizes and can be made to fit almost any laundry room. Write today for descriptive 
circular and our handsomely illustrated No. 12 catalog. Address nearest office. 
CHICAGO DRYER CO. or SHANNON WFfl. CO. 
630 So. Wabash Ave. CHICAGO, ILL. 124 Lexington Ave., NEW YORK CITY 
In writing to advertisers please mention House and Garden. 
